THE government yesterday tabled in Parliament tough penalties for those convicted of human trafficking as it moved to meet United States concerns over the campaign here against Trafficking in Persons (TIP).
The Combatting Trafficking in Persons Bill was introduced by Minister within the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, Ms Bibi Shadick and seeks to criminalise the offence of TIP.
Among the penalties proposed for convicted persons are sentences to any term of years of imprisonment or life imprisonment, forfeiture of property, and payment of full restitution to the trafficked person or persons.
The Bill also proposes that within one year of the act, the Ministry of Home Affairs, in conjunction with the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security and civil representatives of society, must provide appropriate services from governmental and non-governmental sources to victims of trafficking and their dependent children.
These include appropriate housing, psychological counselling, employment and educational and training opportunities.
U.S. State Department officials who were here last week to assess and observe the steps taken by the government to implement measures against TIP, were encouraged with what they found, according to TIP Coordinator attached to the U.S. Embassy here, Mr Timothy Berner.
He told the Chronicle that the two officials, Ms Rachel Owen and Mr Eric Falls, who accompanied Shadick to Region One (Barima/Waini) and held discussions with a wide variety of government and non-government officials, have not yet handed in their report to Washington.
The State Department, after issuing a report on human trafficking in June this year, gave the Guyana Government a 60-day deadline to meet certain benchmarks against TIP or face possible trade and aid sanctions.
Berner said a final decision on removing Guyana from a low TIP ranking was unlikely until the August 13 deadline.
He said Guyana is among many countries being monitored by the U.S., including itself, and a time-frame for reclassification could not be given.
However, he gave the assurance that the matter will be handled expeditiously.
Government spokesmen have protested the adverse U.S. Tier 3 ranking slapped on Guyana and Shadick, the Cabinet Minister charged with spearheading the anti-TIP campaign, has insisted that there was no evidence of human trafficking here.
She told the Government Information Agency (GINA) there was no evidence to sustain Guyana's Tier 3 listing by the U.S.
The UN has defined TIP as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons by means of either threat or use of force, or other forms of coercion; of abduction; of fraud; of deception; of the abuse of power; or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation.
Exploitation as set out by the UN protocol covers prostitution and other forms of sexual exploitation and forced labour, slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.
The sitting of the National Assembly yesterday was the last before the recess, and the main Opposition People’s National Congress Reform was absent.
The National Assembly will reconvene on October 10. (CHAMANLALL NAIPAUL)